Pride Comes Before a Fall
by Yours truly - Pride
Summary: What if before the Fighting Festival arc, Natsu and Laxus already had a showdown, in the form of a Nerf War? In my version, Wendy joined Fairy Tail and Asuka is born before the Fighting Festival Arc. Slight hints of humor, but mostly nakamaship and nest bonding. Bits of NaZa. Rated T for language. Do read and review!


**Pride: Please do note, this story is not a pun on my pen name (AHAHA that rhymed!), because Pride always comes before a fall, but this Pride (i.e. Me) never comes before a fall. HUEHUEHUE. **

**Dear readers, before you proceed with the story…**

**In case you are not following me: Please do check out my three other stories (and most importantly, remember to REVIEW!), "Dragon Invasion", "Tell Me You'll Never Leave Me" and "Profanities". **

**The most important part is to review! I'll be grateful if it's a compliment and I don't mind if it's a flame, because what it means is that you actually took the time to type a comment in that box down there, even if only to flame. It means a lot that you took that time, be it five seconds or five minutes, so please do so. I don't care, even a simple "It's good." Or "It sucks" would suffice. What really matters is that you review. We fanfiction writers imagine and envision these stories for our own satisfaction, but we painstakingly type it for you, which is why we are put off by the fact that there are more than 1000 views to a page, but a measly 10 reviews. Readers, I hope you understand the importance of reviewing, and to my fellow fanfiction writers, I implore you to copy and paste this on your fanfics, because the readers need to know how much their reviews mean to us. **

**Alright. Thank you for hanging on through my short message, and enjoy the story. **

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Fairy Tail or any of its characters. **

* * *

Narrator's Perspective

'_Thoughts_'

_"__Speech" _

**"****Attacks/Raised Voices"**

_Settings- Place and Time _

* * *

**Pride Comes Before a Fall**

A Fairy Tail original fanfiction

* * *

"_I dare you to say that again!" _Erza screamed at Laxus, pure fury showing on her face.

_"__Then I'll say it more clearly. This-guild-doesn't-need-weak-bastards," _said Laxus again, slowly as though he were speaking to a small child.

"_You bastard_-" began Erza again, but she was cut off by Laxus.

"_To be looked down upon by a guild such as Phantom Lord…How embarrassing, I couldn't face anyone. I'm talking about you, you and you_," he pointed and spat viciously at Levy, Jet and Droy.

"_I heard that you guys were beaten up by Iron Dragon Gajeel? Speaking of which, what are your names? Who are you guys? You're a disgrace, hey,"_ he went on to scoff at the three helpless mages.

"_He's too much…"_ Lucy said, gritting her teeth.

"_Ayaya, isn't this the princess that caused all of this?" _

_"__Enough, Laxus! You didn't participate in the fight, so stop adding fuel to the fire!" _yelled Mira, letting her rage show for the second time that Lucy had seen her do so.

"_Of course it has nothing to do with me, but if I was there I wouldn't get beaten up horribly," _continued Laxus in his cocky tone.

"_Laxus, you bastard!" _Natsu lunged at him, his fists on fire.

Laxus vanished from where he was sitting, rematerializing behind Natsu in a spark of lightning.

"_Duel me, you unfeeling, unreasonable bastard!" _

_"__You can't even catch me, yet you talk about dueling?!" _spat Laxus.

"_If I succeed the guild I will erase all the weak shits away and everyone who opposes me! I will build the strongest guild! A guild nobody would dare look down upon! History's strongest guild!" _he continued, his voice rising in volume as he spoke.

"_That's enough out of you, Laxus!" _snapped Master Makarov from his place on the second floor railings.

"_Natsu and Laxus, I want you both in my office now," _he closed his eyes to calm himself down.

"_Heh. Bad little dragon, always getting yourself into trouble~" _Laxus taunted Natsu, sauntering into the Master's office.

"_But it was Laxus who started it!" _Natsu burst out indignantly.

"_I hate to agree with you, but you're right this time Flame Brain," _fumed Gray, clenching his fists and closing his eyes to calm himself down. Beside Natsu, Erza trying her best not to damage the guild's furniture and had bitten her lower lip so hard it started to bleed.

_"__It's okay Natsu. I believe that Master would not be unfair to us. Besides, if anything goes wrong, just remember that you have all of us behind you," _Mira reassured him, smiling and gesturing towards the rest of the guild members.

"_Thanks Mira!" _Natsu gave her a small smile and turned to see Erza who had nearly lost her composure.

"_Erza! Your lips are bleeding! Here, use this," _he said, handing her his scarf, and walking into the Master's office.

Once he had gone out of view, Erza smiled down at the scarf he had lent her.

"_I couldn't use this to wipe my blood, especially knowing how valuable it is to him. Mira! Can I have a tissue, please?" _she called out, folding the scarf and setting it down on the table in its pristine condition.

Mira turned to grab a tissue, but not before flashing her rival-turned-best-friend a cheeky grin.

* * *

_In the Master's office_

_'__*sigh* With this attitude, Laxus is sure to stir up trouble within Fairy Tail soon. I should try to solve this problem before it goes out of control. Laxus needs to learn that there is more to a strong guild than just strong mages,_' thought the third Master of Fairy Tail wearily to himself.

"_Heh, gramps. You're going to tell me off for saying all that? Well, then you'd have to scold this pathetic excuse for a dragon slayer too! And let me tell you beforehand, there's no way I'm apologizing!" _Laxus shot at his grandfather with a maniacal look on his face.

"_But Maste-" _began Natsu but was interrupted by the Master who wanted to put his message across as quickly as possible without his brats making it more troublesome.

"_SILENCE, BRATS!_"

"_Now listen up, I didn't call the two of you here to nag or anything. I wanted to tell you two…"_

_"__That we're going to have a Nerf war within our guild. There will be two teams, and each team must have eight members. The rules are simple: The game is to be played only within the game complex behind the guild hall, and you may use magic, but only to reinforce your bullets," _stated the Master.

While Natsu's eyes shone with childlike excitement, Laxus looked disinterested.

"_Cheh…that's all? Sounds childish. I'll pass," _

_"__Let me finish, you imbecile! Now as I was saying, there are two teams, and I want you two to be the captains. The match will take place in two days' time. You are dismissed."_

_"__HA! You're going down, Laxus! I'm all fired up now!" _yelled Natsu.

"_Calm your flaming ass. Now that you put it like that, I'm not losing to you, even if it's such a childish match. I'll put you in your place and show you who's boss," _claimed Laxus in a cocky manner, walking out of the office, his nose up in the air.

"_Natsu, my boy, I'm counting on you to show him that strong mages alone can not make a strong guild," _said the Master hopefully to another of his mages whom he considered his own grandson.

"_Yosh! I won't let you down, Gramps!" _was the enthusiastic reply, before Natsu was out of the door, already looking for people to put on his team.

The Master then walked out of the office to let the whole guild know of the upcoming Nerf War.

* * *

"_Hey, Ice Queen!" _yelled Natsu, practically bouncing all the way to his rival.

"_What d'you want, charcoal-breath?" _

_"__Join my team for the Nerf War!" _the pinkette demanded.

Gray was so shocked by this that he was lost for words. His mouth opened and closed not unlike that of a goldfish, surprised that his rival had asked him, of all people, to be on his team.

"_I don't mind. Who else is on the team?" _he queried, receiving an answer that he would never have seen coming, and it surprised him further.

"_I haven't asked anyone yet. You're the first," _Natsu grinned.

"_Let's bag this," _Gray smiled, returning his rival's courtesy and respect.

One single thought ran through both their heads in that moment.

'_Of course, even best friends fight every now and then…' _

* * *

"_Erza!_"

"_Natsu? Ah, I heard from Master about the upcoming Nerf War. Make sure you beat Laxus bad enough for us, okay?" _Erza told Natsu, smiling at him encouragingly.

"_What are you talking about? You're on the team too!" _the dragon slayer informed her.

Erza's eyes widened visibly in surprise.

"_M-me?_" she stuttered, her mind trying to wrap itself around this newfound information.

"_Yeah, who else? You will accept, right?" _

_"__Of course," _was the simple reply.

"_YAY! And before you ask, I've only asked you and Gray so far,"_ gushed Natsu before he ran off to recruit more members – no, warriors of justice, as Erza preferred to call them.

* * *

_"__Natsu-nii! Good luck for the match!" _came the voice of Romeo Conbolt, one of Natsu's biggest fans and pseudo-brother.

"_Ah, I was looking for you, Romeo! And you too, Asuka!" _Natsu informed the two children who were seated on one of the benched near him, playing UNO.

"_Us? What for?"_ asked Romeo, puzzled.

"_I want you to join my team!"_

"_B-but we're kids? How can we help you beat Laxus?" _asked Romeo, even more confused by Natsu's statement.

"_Don't worry, I've got a plan!"_ the pink-haired fire mage reassured the boy.

_'__Plan? Ohhhh nooo…plans and Natsu don't mix well,_' thought Asuka's worried parents who were seated nearby, although they knew that Natsu wouldn't let any harm their daughter, especially since they had decided to name him her godfather.

"_Yay! Natsu-chan, let's win!_" squealed the four-year old child, using her newly-learned suffix on her godfather, hugging his legs.

'_Oh well, it's alright as long as Asuka has fun,_' decided Alzack and Bisca.

"_Hehe, of course my little Asuka-chan! By the way, have you seen Wendy?_" he inquired, ruffling her hair affectionately.

"_Uh-huh!"_ she nodded her head cutely in affirmative.

"_Wendy-nee went that way," _she pointed her tiny fingers up in the direction of the second floor.

"_Alright, seeya! Oh, and before I forget, I got you something!"_ said Natsu, handing her a white scaled scarf that looked very much like his own.

"_YAY! I love you, Natsu-chan!"_ cheered little Asuka, wearing the scarf her godfather had just given her, running away, excited to show her friends outside of the guild yet more proof of how awesome her godfather was.

Natsu couldn't help but smile at the little one's antics.

_"__But Natsu, isn't that the scarf that Igneel gave to you?" _asked Alzack, curious.

"_Ah, no. That was another one that just looks like mine," _he explained, making Alzack and Bisca's mouths form an "O". He smiled.

'_They really go well together, don't they…"_

_"__I remember Asuka asking me if she could have my scarf, but I had to refuse her, unfortunately. Later I felt bad that I couldn't fulfil her request, so I asked Mira to help me make a scarf that looked just like mine. Why, is there something wrong with me giving my goddaughter a gift?" _he smirked.

_"__No, not at all,"_ smiled Bisca, touched and comforted to know that they had picked the right person as godfather.

As Natsu turned to go and look for Wendy, Bisca stopped him.

"_Wait! Natsu! We have something to tell you…" _she trailed off, unsure of how to begin.

"_Yes?" _Natsu prompted her.

"_Alzack, help me out!" _she nudged her husband.

"_Ummm…you see Natsu, Laxus asked us to join his team, and we agreed," _Alzack dropped the bomb.

"_I see…I know you guys wouldn't help him out of your own accord, so…Wait, he threatened you, didn't he? Did he threaten you with Asuka?" _

They nodded, heads down in shame.

"_That bastard…" _Natsu clenched his fists.

"_Laxus also asked Mira to be on his team, well, more like demanded, and she agreed. She said that she wanted to see you trash him good, and that she would even be on the enemy team to see that happen firsthand," _continued Alzack.

"_I see…don't worry, I'll kick his ass for you two and Mira!"_

_"__Speaking of Mira…that woman, she could have asked to be on my team if she wanted it so badly…" _said Natsu.

"_You two, don't you dare hold back against me in the match, and don't worry about Asuka, I'll see to it that you don't have to be up against her!" _he assured him with his signature grin that represented the brightness in all of the Fairy Tail members' hearts.

"_You wish!" _said Bisca, her worries having been driven off.

* * *

Natsu found Wendy leisurely sipping a cup of tea, up on the second floor, with Gajeel seated across from her, munching on a couple of nuts and bolts.

"_Oi, oi scrap metal! I hope you didn't pull those out from the beams attached to the building. I don't wanna die just 'cause you're hungry!_" Natsu poked fun at him.

Before Gajeel could bark back a retort, Wendy smiled at her brother, beckoning him to the table.

"_Natsu-nii! Come and have tea with me!" _she chirped happily.

"_Like the flame-head's gonna drink tea, girlie! That's too girly, even for him!" _snickered Gajeel.

"_He will if I ask him to!" _insisted Wendy, puffing out her cheeks while pouring a cup of hot tea for Natsu.

True to her word, Natsu sat down, picked up his cup of tea and sipped on it, smirking at Gajeel all the while.

"_Tea beats nuts and bolts anytime, rust metal!" _Natsu scoffed.

Any scathing comment that Gajeel was about to throw at Natsu caught in his throat as he stated his purpose for the visit.

"_Insults aside, guys, I came here to ask you whether you'll join my team to help me beat Laxus' ass into tomorrow!" _he finished off.

"_Natsu-nii! Language!" _the normally shy and timid girl uncharacteristically snapped, showing the braver side of her that only her two brothers had the privilege of witnessing.

'_He talks about something else, and all she focuses on is that?' _thought Gajeel, as both he and Natsu sweatdropped.

"_I'm up for it, Salamander. But I'm gonna be the one to kick Laxus' ass, you hear me?" _

"_Ah ah ah! Nope, here's the catch – neither one of us is going to kick Laxus' ass. It's going to be Wendy who gets to do the honours!" _said Natsu, wagging his finger.

"_Me? But how can I–" _began Wendy before she was cut off by Natsu.

_"__No buts, Wendy! I know you can do it, because I know Laxus' weakness!" _

_"__Sally's right, girlie. If anyone should do the honours, it's you! Serves him right for looking down on you along with everyone else!" _Gajeel backed Natsu.

"_Alright then Natsu-nii, Gajeel-nii! I know that if both of you agree on something, it's always right!"_

_"__And what's that? S-Sally?" _asked Wendy, nearly laughing off the seat in her mirth, Gajeel joining her and Natsu looking upon the scene in helplessness.

"_Hmmm…I like the ring of it. I guess I'll call you that from now on, Sally-nii!" _she spoke again, once she had calmed herself down.

_"__NOOOOOO NOT YOU TOOO!"_ wailed Natsu in despair.

* * *

Laxus Dreyar was seated at a bar across from the guild, looking up at the three dragonslayers who were laughing away like there was no tomorrow.

'_Heh, fools like these who think that the world is theirs to enjoy…' _he thought scathingly.

_'__That fool…I've the two of the best snipers in the guild – they may be weak but they are good tools every now and then – as well as the Raijinshuu and Mira. And what has he got? A bunch of kiddies, that good-for-nothing Black Steel, the pervert, and Warren. The only good pawn he has is the Titania,' _he was almost oblivious to his surroundings as he basked in his premature victory, or so he thought.

Laxus stopped his train of thoughts as he saw his target walk past the bar, and hop onto the platform along the canals.

He turned into a flash of lightning and reformed before her.

"_Heh, blondie. I've a proposition for you to be on my team, and consider it an honour."_

Lucy was shocked to say the least. She certainly did NOT expect to meet this cocky bastard on her way back home, and she certainly did NOT expect him to ask her to join his team.

"_And what if I refuse?" _she yelled back at him, defiantly, her hands darting towards her keys in case he tried anything funny.

As she did so, she immediately felt one of her keys missing, having been accustomed to the feeling of fifteen keys and their cold metal pressing into her fingers whenever she reached for them. This time she only felt fourteen, and she gasped, just as Laxus pulled out something white from behind him.

"_Plue! How did you-_" she cried out in worry for her little friend, who was being dangled by his legs in front of her.

"_Oh, don't worry, I have my methods. This pathetic, weak little pet of yours will be your reward for joining my team, and the price you have to pay if you don't do so. And don't even try forcing gate closure, it won't work, not with me holding on,"_ he spoke calmly, already knowing what her answer would be.

"_I'll do it! I'll join your team! Just give Plue back to me!" _Lucy almost begged.

Laxus smirked and tossed the celestial spirit back to its owner.

_"__Oh, and I want fair play, newbie. Don't you dare betray me, or else-"_ Laxus left his sentence unfinished, letting Lucy ponder as many grim possibilities as she could, it was to his advantage anyways.

_'__Look who's talking about fair play,'_ thought Lucy as she hugged her precious spirit, refusing to let the tears fall.

'_Excellent. Now I've got Dragneel's protégé, there's no way he can even touch me! Let's see him hit his own nakama, especially one that he himself inducted into the guild, shall we?" _thought Laxus sinisterly as he strutted off, confident of his victory.

* * *

"_Guys, you do know why you're gathered here, right?"_ asked Erza to the rest of her teammates.

_"__Yeah!" _they all chorused.

"_It's time foorrrr~"_

_"__~Natsu-senpai's Operation: 'Take-the-stick-out-of-Laxus'-ass'!" _finished Natsu with a flourish of his hands.

"_You idiot! There are children here!" _Erza whacked him with a rolled-up newspaper.

"_Right. As he was saying, this is *ahem* Operation: 'Take down Laxus'!" _she spoke on behalf of the unconscious pinkette.

_"__Eh…not as good as the first name, but it will do," _said Gray.

"_Gray…" _A glare.

_"__Yes ma'am?" _

_"__Shut up and let me finish!" Another glare. _

_"__Yes ma'am!"_

_"__As I was saying, Natsu and I have come up with this plan, and there will be four phases to the it…" _spoke Erza in her cool, confident voice.

.

.

.

Ten minutes later, the whole team had the plan deeply burned into their brains, and they were confident that they would win if all went according to plan.

"I'm all fired up!" yelled Natsu and the rest of the team followed him in pumping their fists up into the air, even Erza, Gajeel and Gray.

* * *

On the actual day of the match, the two teams stood opposite each other, staring their opponents down, and each of them wielding a toy gun from the Nerf range of products. The Raijinshuu, Erza, Mira and Warren wielded Recons whereas Romeo, Natsu, Gray, Gajeel and Wendy wielded Mavericks. Alzack and Bisca, being trained snipers, preferring ranged weapons, went for Centurions. Little Asuka clutched her Jolt in her hands, a weapon that was small like her, but not to be underestimated. Laxus and Lucy used Alpha Troopers.

Master Makarov walked in between the two teams, shooting the fire dragon slayer a brief, but meaningful glance.

"_Okay, now I want all of you to go and find hiding places. After all, there's no fun in a match if there's no room for strategy," _he said, the participants of the match darting off to different areas of the enclosure as the rest of the guild watched the processings with rapt attention through a lacrima-screen located in the bar of the guild.

"_If you are all ready, LET US BEGIN!" _boomed the voice of the Master, signaling the start of the Nerf War.

Natsu and Gray immediately engulfed their fists in fire and ice respectively, and fist-bumped. Natsu's fire melted Gray's ice, and when he increased the intensity of the fire, mist formed and spread around the entire arena, obstructing their vision.

"_Warren," _whispered Natsu, his voice low but powerful. His voice at that moment was that of a leader. He knew that that was more than just a match. It was an attempt. An attempt to save Fairy Tail from Laxus' pride and arrogance. He felt the burden of the entire guild on his shoulders, but stood tall and straight, his shoulders broad.

Warren nodded, knowing what he was supposed to do. He used his mind-reading magic to sense the positions of the opponents, using his telepathy to project maps of the opponents' positions into his teammates' minds. Natsu and Erza both noticed that their opponents were separated, unlike themselves, making it easier to take them out.

Laxus seethed in anger as he realized Natsu's plan when he felt a tug at the back of his mind, courtesy of Warren. With another jolt of anger, he realized that he could not do anything about it, but to hope that the rest of his stupid teammates would be able to hold their own despite this disadvantage and the mist.

Natsu looked at Wendy.

**"****Arms X: Vernier!" **she cast her spell to enhance all her teammates' bullets.

"_Romeo, you know what to do, right? The two main threats are Alzack and Bisca, we've got to take them out before they manage to foil the rest of the plan," _Natsu beckoned to Romeo, as the two of them headed out to hunt their prey.

It was relatively easy to find Alzack and Bisca with the map Warren had projected into their heads. One of the hidden cameras in the enclosure zoomed in on the four, showing what was playing out for the guild to see.

Sneaking up on them, Natsu and Romeo fired their own bullets at their targets' heads. The couple turned to their attackers, mouths gaping open.

"_Hey, that's not fair! You sneaked up on us!"_

_"__All's fair in love and war~" _chuckled Romeo.

What the two did NOT count on was Lucy taking out Natsu from behind, foiling all their plans. They were now left without a captain to guide them. Well, they still had the assistant captain to take over, at least.

**"****Alzack Connell, Bisca Connell and Natsu Dragneel have been eliminated from the match!" **boomed the the voice of Max Alors, the commentator for the match, causing the guild members' hopes to fall slightly, although they noted with satisfaction, that Laxus' team had lost its two top shooters, and was left with only six members while Natsu's team still had seven.

**CLICK **

Erza fired a bullet at Lucy, who had turned her weapon on Romeo, and was least expecting another person to interfere.

Erza quickly swept behind just in time to see Mira raise her gun, before the little girl Erza had brought along, stood in front of her protectively.

Asuka frowned at Mira, and raised her gun with her tiny fists, pointing it at Mira.

"_Don't bully my god-daddy's wife!" _she pouted.

Now, Mira was a sucker for two things – matchmaking and children. She had always fantasised about setting Natsu and Erza up, seeing the chemistry in between them. Even now Erza was wearing Natsu's scarf around her neck from two days before. Hearing Asuka say it herself made her fangirl heart flutter and do a couple of loop-de-loops before it flopped onto the ground with a stupid smile on its face. She was also extremely fond of Asuka, seeing as she was the youngest in the guild. The deadly combination of her two weaknesses made her collapse, squealing, even before the little girl's bullet hit her.

Erza's jaw was buried in the ground from hearing what Asuka had said and seeing Mira's reaction to it, before Romeo snapped her out of her shock and the three of them made their way back to their team's gathering spot.

"**Lucy Heartfilia and Mirajane Strauss have been knocked out of the match!" **

"_Yeah!" _cheered the guild members in unrestrained glee.

Back at their meeting spot, Natsu's team was discussing the latest developments.

_"__Guys. Natsu's out," _said Romeo.

"_It's okay. I'll take charge then. We only need a few minor changes to the plans. Instead of Natsu, we'll have Erza-san against the Raijinshuu, along with Gray-san and Gajeel-nii," _said Wendy in an authoritative voice, possible only because of her brothers' lessons on confidence.

The three team members in question nodded, knowing that if Natsu had placed his faith in Wendy, she sure as hell wouldn't let them down.

Erza, Gray and Gajeel left the safe spot after restocking their ammo. Before they left, Erza turned to Asuka.

"_Asuka, you did well. What d'you say to some ice cream with me and Natsu after all of this?" _she smiled at the little girl.

"_Okay, god-mommy!" _

Erza's eyes would have popped out of their sockets if she weren't such a stoic person.

She darted off to find her targets, intent on finishing what she set out to do before thinking about anything else.

Spotting Evergreen, she emptied her barrel at her, just to be safe.

"**Evergreen is out!"**

Freed and Bixlow were alerted to her presence, and swiftly fired at her.

She dodged all of Freed's bullets, but was almost hit by one of Bixlow's bullets which had one of his 'babies' riding on it, making it act like a guided missile. A bullet from Gajeel intercepted it, making it erupt into sparks.

"_Gihihi! I'm your opponent, Bixlow!" _

Gray entered the fray as well, engaging Freed in combat.

The four combatants exchanged a volley of bullets before they each ran out of ammo.

"_Oops, looks like a dead end!" _smirked Erza, emptying her reloaded barrels into the two opponents.

**"****Bixlow and Freed Justine are out!"**

The guild could almost feel the victory, grasp it in their hands.

Laxus landed behind them, and furiously fired a barrage of bullets into his opponents, not giving them a chance to react.

**"****Gajeel Redfox, Gray Fullbuster and Erza Scarlet are eliminated!"**

The guild's hopes crashed and burned, there were only Wendy, Asuka and Warren left, who didn't stand much of a chance against Warren.

As Gray walked off to sit at the sidelines to join the rest of the eliminated participants, he called out to his teammate.

"_Wendy, now!" _

The small girl landed on all fours, and straightened herself out before cocking back the side mechanism and aiming her weapon at her last standing opponent.

Laxus turned to see a magic-enhanced bullet hit him squarely in the forehead.

He had lost. The mighty Laxus had lost to Natsu in such a simple game, and the dastardly pink-haired dragon slayer had accomplished it using one of the 'weaklings', as Laxus chose to call Wendy and the rest of the guild that wasn't the Raijinshuu, Erza, Mira, Mystogan, Gildarts, Natsu or Gray.

He was practically shaking with anger at this point, and had to take it out on something, anything! Laxus raised an arm covered in lightning to strike Wendy, and the girl timidly closed her eyes, bracing herself for the hit, but all she felt was a firm but gentle on her shoulder.

Wendy opened her eyes to see Laxus' whose arm was frozen in place, not daring to hit her, and she turned around to see her brother smiling knowingly at Laxus.

"_Heh. See, Laxus? I knew that deep down, you're that Laxus that I idolized and looked up to all those years ago. The Laxus that secretly cared for all his nakama, even if he was too embarrassed to admit otherwise. The Laxus that wouldn't dare to hit a child, no matter what the reason may be," _he smiled serenely.

"_Rubbish!" _spat Laxus.

"_Keep on dreaming, you little shit! That will never happen. I used to be a weakling, thinking that friendships were worth it. That time is over! Now I know that strength is the only permanent thing in this world!" _

_"__That's enough, Laxus! Now, before you all go any further, congratulations to Natsu's Team for winning the match! Your reward is a book on seals and universal spells, as well as one hundred thousand jewels each!" _announced the Master, handing out the prizes.

Over in the far corner, Lucy was slumped over, anime tears running down her face in sorrow. One hundred thousand jewels…now she really wished she was on Natsu's team…

"_Cheh, I don't need a book of petty spells! If I had known the reward was so measly, I wouldn't even have participated in this shitty match!" _said Laxus as he stormed out of the guild, his face shadowed by his hair. The Thunder God Tribe followed after him.

"_Remember Fairy Tail, that was only the __**First **__Battle of Fairy Tail…I promise you, there's more to come!" _

With that, the four mages walked out of the guild, out of sight of the rest of the members.

Laxus' words slightly discomforted the Master, but the guild members were two euphoric to even care. They partied for the rest of the day, happy that Laxus had finally been put in his place, and the star of the day's brawl was Wendy, courtesy of Natsu tipping her banana split over her head.

* * *

**Pride: *phews* Another chapter done! And it's the longest chapter I've ever written! 5104 words! Sorry about the slight Laxus bashing, he's one of my favourite characters but I had to do this for the sake of the story. Besides, he's more badass with the "bad" in there. I tried to insert as much nakamaship inside, especially between Natsu and Asuka. I also tried to put in a wee bit of NaZa and make Lucy less shitty. Might be making a sequel, in which the book the team received as a reward causing problems. **

**Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed on my stories. Also, special thanks to Cardboard Pixie and sapphire dragon slayer alex for reviewing regularly, I'm really grateful to you guys!**

**Okay, signing out, and remember to review!**

**- Yours truly, Pride. **


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